Press Releases
Impact of Illicit Tobacco on Legitimate Retailers
Legitimate retailers are being forced out of business as illegitimate, unregulated illicit tobacco continues to spread far and wide across Australia, AACS CEO Theo Foukkare says. “The most common conversation I have with tobacco retailers focuses on illicit tobacco and the massive impact it is having on their bottom line,” he said. The other most common conversation is regarding liquid nicotine e-cigarettes / vapes & the fact that they are now also being sold illegally by the same retailers that are selling illicit tobacco. “The high cost of cigarettes in Australia has inadvertently allowed this illegal activity to thrive and it continues to undercut the legal market. “We know struggling retailers have also started selling illicit products just to survive because the demand for the cheaper product is so high. “To protect retailers, we want the Federal Government to start working with State Governments and local councils to provide enhanced…
Read MoreIndustry groups urge greater support for struggling NSW & VIC businesses
Peak industry bodies have called for greater government support for New South Wales and Victorian businesses struggling to survive the current prolonged lockdowns. National Retail Association (NRA) CEO Dominique Lamb; Franchise Council of Australia (FCA) CEO Mary Aldred; and Australian Convenience Stores Association (AACS) CEO Theo Foukkare all said many of their members in Australia’s two biggest states urgently need assistance. Measures that the business groups are asking respective state and federal governments to consider are as follows: The reintroduction of JobKeeper to businesses in NSW and VIC affected by the current prolonged lockdowns. Business support around leasing to manage increased small business debts. A stimulus package to address drops in cash flow. NRA CEO Dominique Lamb said that retailers in Australia’s two largest states desperately needed support and that the current lockdowns could jeopardise the all-important Christmas period. “Each week both New South Wales and Victoria remain in lockdown…
Read MoreSMALL RETAILERS LOCKED OUT OF SHAM CONSULTATION PROCESS
Small retailers have been locked out of the Federal Government’s consultations over its plan to limit the sale of vaping products to pharmacies, the Australasian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS) said today. AACS CEO Jeff Rogut said the Deputy Secretary of the Department for Health, Adjunct Professor John Skerritt, had referred to a series of consultation events regarding the disastrous plan, but he failed to mention small retailers as one of the participants. “I am not aware of any retail groups, particularly those representing convenience and other small stores, being involved in these so-called consultations,” Mr Rogut said. Professor Skerritt told a Senate Committee that around 200 people had attended “a series of webinars” to consider the proposal to force vapers to visit a doctor and obtain a prescription, then buy their products from a pharmacy. He said the participants include regular vapers, health care professionals and “pharmacist groups such…
Read MoreVAPING DECISIONS NEEDS URGENT OVERHAUL
Forcing consumers seeking a safer alternative to smoking to visit a GP, get a vaping prescription, then go to a pharmacy during their restricted opening hours to purchase these products is not only doomed to fail in a health sense, says the Australasian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS), it’s a slap in the face to small businesses across the country. AACS CEO Jeff Rogut says the interim decision by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) to make vaping products only available to people from pharmacies with a prescription is both dangerous to health and a missed opportunity for responsible retailers. “The TGA still has an opportunity to embrace common sense. This absurd proposal can be revised. It must be, if our health authorities are serious about helping people looking for a safer alternative to tobacco,” Mr Rogut says. “It makes no sense to make it harder for people to access products…
Read MoreAACS WARNS: ALARM BELLS RING ON CRIME
With Victoria Police launching Operation United to proactively crack down on gangs engaging in car-jackings and home invasions as lockdown restrictions ease, the Australasian Association Convenience Stores (AACS) has warned of a potential spike in crimes against convenience stores and called for a similar proactive response. AACS CEO Jeff Rogut said security for retailers – always a concern, particularly for businesses operating late at night – will take on extra importance as lockdown restrictions are eventually wound back. “As Government measures like JobKeeper and JobSeeker subside, we can expect cost of living pressure to build and we know from past experience that this can lead to increases in crimes against convenience stores including hold-ups, petrol theft and the widespread flooding of illegal cigarettes through the community,” Mr Rogut said. “The fact many businesses will remain closed, some never to re-open, puts further pressure on those that do and opens them…
Read MoreAACS: COMMON SENSE ON VAPING PREVAILS….FOR NOW
The Australasian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS) has welcomed the Health Minister’s delay of laws which prohibit the personal importation of nicotine liquids for use in e-cigarettes and has called instead for a proper framework to govern the legal sale of these products, as other progressive nations have done. Last week, without consultation or the possibility of parliamentary scrutiny, the Department of Health moved to prohibit the personal importation of nicotine liquids for use in e-cigarettes from July 1. After a public outcry, including from several Government MPs, the move has now been delayed. But AACS CEO Jeff Rogut says the policy should be abandoned altogether. “Making it harder for people to access products that research shows are safer than traditional tobacco, and which have helped many people quit smoking, makes no sense. We need to make it easier for people to access such products,” Mr Rogut says. “And we…
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